Are you looking to promote your brand or want to build a community or are you thinking of broadcasting events?
Live Streaming is the right answer for you in this juncture. Hence, learning and imbibing this invaluable skill of conducting smooth live streams is imperative. But also take into consideration issues that may crop up. We bring you live stream pitfalls to avoid in this blog.
Live streaming has turned out to be a magical wand in today’s FOMO era. Whether you are a content creator looking to enhance the number of views or a marketer looking to generate more leads.
Live streaming is a simple solution to pump up your business and make your presence felt. Make sure that your live stream is of high quality as only that can create its create magic and bring followers.
Live streaming has become an increasingly popular route to connect with audiences in real-time. However, it can be challenging to ensure a smooth and engaging experience for both the streamer and viewers. Here are some of the benefits of live streaming.
Benefits of Live Streaming
- Opportunity for revenue generation
- Live interaction
- Streaming without disturbances
- Cost effective
- Content Diversity
- An opportunity to stand ahead of the competition
- More audience views
- Tracking insights
9 Common Live Stream Pitfalls To Avoid
There are many common live stream pitfalls to avoid that many entrepreneurs fail to, here we discuss them and show you how to bypass them as this will help attract and hold your viewers’ attention.
1. Opting the wrong topic for your audience
Avoid selecting any topic that your audience is not keen about. To ensure that you catch your audience’s attention and gain viewers, it is necessary that your live-streamed content is interesting and grabs attention.
Don’t make live streams overly self-promotional as most brands make this mistake on a regular basis. Instead, choose a topic that caters to your audience imagination. Make sure you aim the content to be educational and genuine even if you are live-streaming about your own brand directly.
2. Failing To Plan Ahead
Plan your live streams ahead of time. Plan you topic, research about it and how you will display the content. Many think that it does not need planning as live-streaming is unedited and unscripted.
However, this is not true as an excellent live stream takes as much planning as VOD content. The planning required is based on the type of event you’re thinking of live-streaming.
One should consider a few things while planning live video streaming which are: –
- Video and audio equipment
- Internet bandwidth available
- Weather (if being conducted outdoors)
- Resources like pre-recorded video, charts, images
- Lighting plan
- Your location
- Length of the Live stream. Various sections like different performers, speakers, segments of information, and so on.
- Background noises, which can be expected
- What if your camera dies in the middle of the video resulting in the end of your live stream. This can be averted by carrying spare (charged) camera batteries.
- Create a rundown to plan live-stream events that have multiple segments. The rundown consists of a list of the planned sections along with their time frames and other applicable details. This could comprise audio, the lighting plan, displayed graphics, etc.
A simple spreadsheet can be used to create a rundown. Investing in software like the Shoflow rundown can be used to streamline the entire process. One can take the benefit of automated time calculations, live shared changes from any device and rehearse out-of-order functions.
3. Not getting your resources together in advance
Based on the kind of topic you are covering in your live stream, you may want to include different resources. You might like to include graphs, charts, and diagrams which are very beneficial for certain types of presentations.
You might also like to include some recorded videos you want or some illustrative images. It is important to get these resources together in advance and make sure they are easily accessible.
Going live without proper preparation can lead to a disorganised and confusing stream. To avoid this, plan out your content in advance, create a checklist of equipment and set it up, finally do a run-through before going live.
Can you think of waiting while a live-stream host clicks around on his PC trying to find a graph/image? This can be embarrassing!
4. Not using Run of show
A run of the show can help you in feeling that everything is set for the live streaming. It enables you to lessen the chance of equipment issues and improve the timing of graphics and supplementary resources. Moreover, it helps to develop the true time frame of sections and gives everyone a bird’s eye view of the show.
To take your run of the show to the next level, you can also take into account software solutions like teleprompters. Shoflow provides teleprompter service that combines with your rundown and is available on your device. This helps you to deliver prompts to speakers anywhere in the world.
5. Streaming poor quality audio, video
Audiences are just not ready to accept buffering, lagging, fuzzy image quality, or scratchy audio these days. They are looking for quality. Research indicates that audiences leave a bad-quality live stream in 90 seconds or less.
Hence, live streaming should be crisp, buffer-free video, with distinct audio. Make sure to invest in the correct microphones so that background noises are avoided, and guide presenters to talk into their mics.
Poor audio quality can quickly turn off viewers and make communication ineffective. To improve audio quality, invest in a good microphone and test your audio levels before going live. It’s also important to reduce background noise and avoid talking over others.
Moreover, select your frame rate carefully as higher frame rates can influence the quality of your streamed video. Also, make use of a good quality camera.
The frame rate of 15 fps can be used for streaming presentations, interviews, or events with less movement. This ensures a smooth image. However, if you are streaming footage like sports events, you should consider a higher frame-rate of 30fps and more.
6. Streaming with low upload speed
Common live stream pitfalls to avoid include low upload speed. If your upload speed can’t handle the heat, then even good quality video and audio that you present will be useless. Always try for the highest speed available. Try to get at least twice the upload speed than what you have set for combined audio-video quality.
Use a cellular connection to live-stream a physical event like a concert or sports match. Thus, you might want to invest in a multi-bonded cellular device.
The reason behind this is that large get-togethers can saturate the ability of nearby satellite towers, causing upload speeds to decline. Having a multi-bonded device will enable you to load balance and fight this crash.
7. Lack of consistency and event not interactive
Consistency is key to building a loyal following. If you don’t provide consistent content, your audience may lose interest or forget about your stream. To overcome this challenge, create a content schedule and stick to it. This will help you build a following and keep viewers engaged.
Live streams are immensely popular than VOD content just because they are more interactive. For instance, think of an interview attended by your favourite celebrity. In the live stream, you get to see them in real-time. There might be a chat provision also where the audience can pop up with questions.
Ways to make your live stream interactive
- For corporate and educational events include gamification
- Audience polls
- Speaker addressing the camera directly
8. Under Promoting Your Stream
Promoting live stream events in advance is important as they occur in real-time. Promote the event on your social channels, garner sponsors to help, and broadcast it through your email list. To ensure their presence, send out reminders and spread the word.
Creating content is not your only responsibility, if you don’t promote your stream. It can be difficult to attract viewers. To overcome this pitfall, promote your stream on social media, create teasers, and collaborate with other streamers to reach new audiences.
9. Technical issues and poor lighting
Common live stream pitfalls to avoid include technical issues. Technical problems can be one of the most frustrating challenges of live streaming. These can include audio and video issues, connectivity problems, and hardware malfunctions.
To overcome these challenges, it’s important to invest in high-quality equipment, test your setup before going live, and have a backup plan in case of technical difficulties.
Lighting can greatly affect the quality of your live stream. Poor lighting can make it difficult for viewers to see you or your surroundings. To improve lighting, invest in good lighting equipment or use natural lighting if possible.
Conclusion: Common Live Stream Pitfalls To Avoid
Live streaming is all about building relationships and engaging with your audience. If you fail to engage with your viewers, they may lose interest and move on. To avoid this pitfall, engage with your audience by responding to comments, asking questions, and encouraging participation.
By being aware of these common live stream pitfalls and taking proactive steps to overcome them, you can create engaging, high-quality live streams that connect with your audience and build a loyal following.
After an Engineering degree and a Diploma in Management I devoted 16+ years working in the automotive industry. My innate skill and extreme passion in writing, encouraged me to adopt it up as a profession. I have been writing for more than 10+ years in the software industry. The 400+ blogs I published are informative, exhaustive and interesting to a professional and causal reader.
